Goddess
Isis’ divine position in ancient Egypt
Osiris and Isis became the most widely worshipped Egyptian deities starting from the New Kingdom. By then, Isis had absorbed the characteristics of many other goddesses. A significant event has happened that this period witnessed the building of dedicated temples for Osiris and Isis in Egypt and
Temples Dedicated to Goddess Isis
Temples of Philae
The Temples of Philae stands on one of the islands in the Nile River. Its original place was on Philae Island in Aswan. The ancient Egyptian name of Philae was Pilak. The Greek and Latin Philae derives from that name, Pilak. During the Islamic era, the local people called it El-Qasr, or the Castle in English. Also, they named it Geziret Anas el-Wogud, after the hero of one of the tales, “Arabian Nights. “According to this tale, her father locked her up on Philae. Therefore, this hero traced his beloved to this island.
After building the High Dam in Aswan, there was a need to move this complex to the next island, Agilika. Agilika lies 12 km to the south of the High Dam. For this reason, Egypt welcomed the help of UNESCO. Thus, the engineers and builders decided to reconstruct this temple complex on Agilika Island.
History of Philae Temples
The oldest surviving buildings in this temple date back to pharaoh Nectanebo I (370 BC). Today’s imposing buildings were erected by the Ptolemaic Kingdom in the last two centuries BC and by the Roman Emperors in the first three centuries AD. And the Great Temple of Isis is the most prominent building in this complex.
As Nubians were the last to convert to Christianity, the temple remained serving the goddess, Isis. However, Justinian announced Christianity as the country’s official religion (AD 527-565). After that, the Christians used it as a church.
The island was one of the most beautiful places in Egypt and attracted large numbers of visitors every year. Just after the construction of the Aswan Dam in 1922, water merged it for a significant part of the year. For this reason, the temples were accessible only between August and December. Once again, another event dramatically threatened the existence of this fantastic complex: building the High Dam in Aswan. Therefore, UNESCO helped move this complex to the next safe island between 1972 and 1980.
What an incredible story of the family of Gods! Ancient Egypt was full of such stories and firmly believed in them as well. That is well evident from the temples that they have built for them for centuries. Until the advent of Christianity when Egypt was declared as a Christian state. The prominent among them was the Goddess Isis, who was part of a Royal family of Gods. But strangely though legend says that she was married to her brother Orisis, which I believe is to maintain the chastity of Royal Blood. Feels eerie, but it is said to be true. Isis was said to be an embodiment of fertility in all its aspects including motherhood. She also had a widespread reputation and her cult spread out of Egypt as well. She was worshiped with respect and that is evident from the temple being built in her name and her legacy. Her temple needs viewing. So do come here.